Internet Sites Black Out in Protest

Remember what it was like, way back in 2000?

No Wikipedia (launched in 2001). No Reddit (founded in 2005). No WordPress (founded in 2003). 

Take a trip back in time beginning 12 a.m. Wednesday, when Wikipedia's English-language site and a host of other websites will black out for 12 to 24 hours in protest of two pending bills that opponents say will promote censorship.

Legislators who introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Internet Property Act (PIPA) said the bills are aimed at protecting revenues in the age of digital file sharing.

The blackout was organized by several groups, including Fight for the Future, a nonprofit supporting freedom of expression on the Internet which said this will be the largest digital strike in history.

A host of Internet bigwigs plan to show support for the protests without blocking access to their sites, including Mozilla, with this Protect the Internet page, and Google, which told CNet that it plans to “highlight this issue on our U.S. homepage.”

Patch will not be blacking out. Its parent company, AOL, has released this statement:

As written, we cannot support the bills. We believe an open Internet is critical for innovation, job creation, and the sustained growth of Internet businesses. We are in the process of working directly with lawmakers to improve the bills.

Read more about both bills, and who is supporting them, on the BBC.

While Wikipedia may be unavailable, in Howard County, there's another resource: the Howard County Library System. 

“The Instructors and Research Specialists are always available to assist customers with research assistance for school projects, business needs or other needs,” said Howard County Library's Director of Public Relations Christie Lassen in an email.  

"Whether in person, by phone, via email, or online, we provide thousands of full-text journal, magazine, and newspaper articles through specialized online research tools such as the New World Encyclopedia, the Historical New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports, Congressional Quarterly's CQ Researcher, and World Factbook (just to name a few)—all available for free through our website 365 days a year."

Capital News Service contributed to this article.